Game device



F. H. DEAN GAME DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1939 INVENTOR. F H. D e a 1':

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ATTDRNEY March 4, 1941.

\ Ill Patented Mar. 4, 1941 "PATENT OFFICE .GAME DEVICE Frank H. Dean, Stockton, Calif.

Application October 16, 1939, Serial No. 299,657

1 Claim.

This invention relates to indoor game devices, and particularly to one of a nature which is portable and may be played in the parlor, and which 15 whose guess comes closest to the color arrangement of the balls finally moving into the receptacle, being adjudged the winner of any round.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be'exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following 25 specification and claim.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure '1 is a side elevation of my game device,

shown in its initial position.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the device, shown in its final position.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

5 Referring now more particularly to the charactersof reference on the drawing, the device comprises a relatively large container I, of rectangular form in plan and divided by a longitudinal orificed transverse partition 2 into two 40 compartments 3 and 4. The container is rotatably supported by alongitudinal rod 5 projecting through the end walls 6 thereof and disposed substantially centrally of the distribution of weight of the container. At its ends, the rod is 45 mounted in standards 1 upstanding from a base 8.

Enclosed within the container is a large number of light spherical objects 9 such as hollow rubber or Celluloid balls, the total number of 50 which is preferably insufficient to fill either compartment. The openings ID in partition 2 are of sufficient size to receive an object therethrough, the main purpose of the partition being to somewhat retard movement of the balls from the com- 5 partment 3 in which they are initially disposed,

into the compartment 4, when the container is rotated about rod 5.

There are a number of sets of differently and distinctively colored balls, there being the same number of balls in each set and such number 5 being preferably the same as the number of sets.

The compartment 4 is provided with a false bottom ll, sloping down from the side and end walls toward a pair of closely and symmetrically arranged tubes l2 depending from compartment 10 4, or in a direction directly opposite compartment 3.

The tubes are open to compartment 4 but closed on their outer end, each tube being of a size and length to receive a single-file row of balls equal in number to half the number of sets.

In other words if there are for instance eight sets of balls in the container, each tube will hold four balls only. It is therefore possible, upon rotation of the container from an initial position 0 in which container 3 is lowermost as in Fig. 1 to a final postion in which the tubes l2 are lowermost as in Fig. 2, for all the balls of one set to drop into the tubes, or for only one of each set to thus drop. The tubes are of transparent glass as shown or otherwise windowed so that the different colors of the balls therein will be clearly visible to the players without question.

The exterior side and top walls of the container 3, which is preferably of arch form in 30. cross section, are of openwork construction, so that the players can initially see a large number of the balls therein, and can choose any color or combination of colors which they believe will ultimately appear in the tubes. One of the players then rotates the container by hand, thus tumbling the balls about, and finally halting the container so that the tubes are in depending relation. The balls pass relatively slowly from the then upper compartment 3 to the lower compartment 4, due to the restricting action of the orificed partition 2 which prevents the balls possibly clogging at the mouth of the tubes, and a few of the balls enter the tubes to fill the same.

gether to allow their combined contents to be readily viewed with a single glance.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction'of the device, .still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a depart- 'ure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I' claim aswnew and useful and desireutosecure by Letters Patent is: u

A game device comprising a container, means mounting the container for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of separate objects of substantially equal size enclosed in the container, certain ones of said objects having characteristics diflerent from the remainder, a tube open to and projecting from one wall of the container in a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation, the tube being closed at its outer end and of a size to hold only a few of said objects and of a nature such that the objects therein are visible" ,the container is rotated from an initial position in which the tube extends upwardly to a position inzwhich the tube extends downwardly.

FRANK H. DEAN. 

